Get Past The Filter: Artificial Intelligence In Hiring

It’s graduation season—and whether you are a new graduate, or someone looking to make a job switch or seeking employment, you first need to get a proverbial foot in the door. And increasingly, that means getting past resume filters, algorithms, and application tracking systems (ATS).

I recently offered some advice to a young person looking to make a career switch into software project management. While he did not have that particular experience highlighted on his resume, anyone taking a closer look could see that he actually had project management experience. And by “anyone,” I mean a human someone! The problem is there is a particular hoop to jump through to get to a human who will read that resume. In this candidate’s case, he was never making it past the tech used to screen candidates.

Right now, most mid- to large-sized companies use resume filters or ATS. When they get hundreds or thousands of resumes for a job, there is simply no way a human can go through them all. If the human resources department is trying to hire for multiple positions, the need for these filters rises. The filters serve a purpose. I consider filters low-grade artificial intelligence, and they have significant limitations. However, the smarter AI gets, the better the filters will be come. Like it or not, resume AI is here to stay.

Filters cannot (yet) necessarily do a good job reading between the lines. In the case of the young man I was advising, I could see he had been doing project management for nearly nine years. Those same skills apply to any project. The issue was the AI could not make the correlation to software project management positions.

“The sole function of your resume these days,” I told this jobseeker, “is to create one that can get past the AI filters.”

To that end, here are some tips for conquering the AI gatekeeper:

• Keep it simple. Resumes with attractive borders and fancy graphics or artistic additions may look eye-catching—to a human. But the AI may not know how to interpret a graphic or photo. The same holds true for color fonts, or columns, tables, etc.
• Watch your “SEO.” Just as we all know that search engine optimization is important to promote a business or product, you are essentially your product—and you need the SEO terms that are going to “sell” that product. Look at the wording of the job description—and ensure many of those words are in your resume.
• Use the right file format. This sounds like a very basic thing, but unless a company specifically asks for a PDF resume, use Word. Filters have a hard time “reading” PDFs, and Word is more efficient for the screening process.
• Customize your resume for the position. The old advice to tailor your resume for each job you apply for still holds true (remember your SEO!).
• Watch your section heads. It might be clever or more conversational to use a phrase like “What I Do”—but stick to “Skills.” The ATS will read that much better.
• Keep it current. You should always be updating your resume not only when you change jobs, but as you add skills or experience.
• Use a cover letter. While filters do not read cover letters (again, yet—AI is always evolving), if you do make it past the filter, a human will be reading it—and that is a chance to highlight the best talents and experiences you have.
• Be specific. So not “streamlined processes” but “streamlined processes, saving the company x dollars and shaving x time off our production schedule.”

Your resume is your calling card into a company. But also do not forget that the very best “filter” is human. Network and make connections because having your resume handed to someone will always be better than playing the “get past the filter” game. While your goal as far as your resume is to get past the AI that is distilling hundreds of resumes down to the best candidates, remember that your ultimate goal is to reach that hiring manager. The filter is just one piece of your search on your way to that human connection.